Emergency declaration is first step

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Photo: MARK COSTANTINI

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NAPAFLOOD03_0201 1/2/06
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger(please correct spelling) visits Napa and is pictured here near the 3rd St. Bridge. Clean-up effort in downtown Napa on and around Pearl St. in Napa after floods. Event on 1/2/06 in Napa, CA. Photo: Mark Costantini /San Francisco Chronicle. less

NAPAFLOOD03_0201 1/2/06
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger(please correct spelling) visits Napa and is pictured here near the 3rd St. Bridge. Clean-up effort in downtown Napa on and around Pearl St. in ... more

Photo: MARK COSTANTINI

Emergency declaration is first step

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When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven Northern California counties Monday, he cleared the way for a variety of state and, possibly, federal aid to flow into the communities hit hard by the weekend storm.

The state declaration is part of a graduated response to what the law says are "conditions of disaster or extreme peril ... caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or animal infestation or disease ..." or other problems local cities and counties can't cope with on their own.

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Individual cities or counties have to declare a local emergency, with an initial damage assessment, and then have 10 days to request the state disaster proclamation, said Dale Chessey, a spokesman for the governor's Office of Emergency Services.

Once the governor declares an emergency, the state can help pay for local services, such as police overtime and sandbagging, and can restore and repair public buildings and facilities. That can mean clearing and repairing streets, roads and bridges, fixing public utilities and getting government buildings back in service.

If the governor determines the damage is too much for the state to deal with on its own, he has five days to request a federal emergency declaration, which can bring "essential" assistance for things like temporary housing and food distribution. Within 30 days, the governor can ask for a presidential declaration of a major disaster, which opens the door for the entire range of federal assistance to the state, individual cities and counties, and even individuals damaged by the disaster.

The governor also has to submit a detailed damage assessment to the Federal Emergency Management Agency before federal help can arrive, Chessey said.

Even without the disaster declarations, mutual aid assistance from the state and other counties is available to areas hit hard by the disaster, as are disaster loan programs run by the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.